News & Media

TJSL Patent Clinic Helps Inventors Accelerate the Application Process

Thomas Jefferson School of Law is one of only three law schools in California, and the only one in the San Diego, Imperial County, Orange County region with both patent and trademark clinics certified by the Patent & Trademark Office ("PTO"). That office just revealed that TJSL's student-run patent clinic, supervised by Prof. JD Cowart, has filed more "make special" patent applications than any other law school clinic in the country. The "make special" designation means that the PTO will expedite consideration of the patent application. This has two distinct benefits. First, inventors will get their patents issued more quickly. Second, TJSL students working in the clinic will get to experience more of the patent prosecution process.

The law school recently announced that the PTO has approved its request to expand the clinic to accommodate scientists and engineers in addition to law students. For more information on this Patent Enrichment Program for scientists and engineers, please contact Steven Semeraro at ssemeraro@tjsl.edu or 619-961-1305.